


A Hero's Return

by the_queenofthecastle



Category: Suzanne Collins - Fandom, gregor the overlander - Fandom, the underland chronicles
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9066808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_queenofthecastle/pseuds/the_queenofthecastle
Summary: It's been four years since his last visit to the Underland and Gregor seems to be the only one who hasn't moved on. Luckily he has college work to keep him occupied from his longing for his other life as the warrior. Unfortunately though, it seems no matter what he does, Gregor's past is always following him. It's only a matter of him going somewhere it can find him.





	1. ||\ |// // \/. |||/ \ | \/ /\. |\/ | /| \ \/.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It was moments like this when he questioned his sanity. The fields of Virginia sped by in a golden blur as Gregor sat in the safe confines of his train car. The fresh scent of summer flowers and berries filled the air of the train from the open windows. Children going on holiday breaks sang songs of long beaches and played games in their seats. It was bliss for everyone to be on that train, except for Gregor. Of course he was happy with where he was going- home for the holidays after his first year of college- but home meant reminders of his time the Underland. In the first few weeks after he left the cave system he was grateful for the brief glimpses of what he had been through, it gave a reality to the events when Boots played with her toy bats or when Lizzie would write essays in code. Now, after he'd long lost all hope of returning to the Kingdom, it hurt. He remembered doing a piece of fiction writing on the people he'd met in order to make it all feel like a dream. It didn't work in the slightest. His teacher said he had a fantastic imagination and that he should be proud of his "vampire creatures that couldn't go out in the sunlight" and he'd gotten so defensive of his friends that he'd been given detentions every lunchtime for the next two weeks. He left home for college hoping it would take him away from the Underland once and for all but, just like he'd had when he and his family moved to Virginia, a nagging in his brain made him want to go back to that boulder in Central Park. College did however provide a decent enough distraction from his thoughts but now he was on break he was alone with them, no work to occupy him for six weeks.  
Focus, he thought to himself, you'll be with your family. They were more well off now that Gregor's father had come back, both parents worked to be able to rent a quaint little house in the countryside. It wasn't a lot but it was a lot more than they'd had when Gregor's father was first lost in the... Stop it, Gregor screamed in his thoughts and adjusted his earphones with a sigh of frustration. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to think of his sisters. Lizzie was twelve now yet hadn't seemed to change a bit. She'd always been mature for her age and now prospered in school thanks to her higher than average intelligence. Boots hadn't changed much either, thankfully. She spent her time inventing games with her limitless imagination but she'd long moved on from dreams of the Underland, she'd been young enough at the time for her to now believe it was all just a game her small mind had created. Gregor envied her sometimes. He knew his pain was very real and his mind wouldn't be convinced otherwise, no matter how much his previous teachers thought his pale, violet-eyed friends were but a thing of imagination.  
His train jerking to a stop snapped Gregor out of his thoughts. He glanced out of the window and squinted in the summer sun to try and find his family on the platform. There they were; waving and smiling at him. It was times like these that made him feel guilty because of his longing for the Underland, did he not have everything he needed here already? He hauled up his bags, stumbled to the exit and was instantly almost knocked back into the train by Boots attaching herself to his legs.  
"Gregor!" She squealed as he dropped his bags and lifted her up into his arms. Lizzie hung back by her parents and offered her big brother a smile. He smiled back and let Boots down to greet the rest of his family. His mother kissed all over his face and asked rapid questions (none of which he could answer in the time it took for her to form the next question). His father simply rested a hand on his back and ushered them to the car.  
"College is great, mum." Gregor answered quickly but only received more queries and concerns from his excitable parent. "Yes, I have friends. Plenty. No, I'm not bullied." Lizzie seemed to catch on that he was tired and couldn't handle all of these questions at once.  
"Let's just get home. It'll be late by the by the time we get there." She but in calmly and looked to the sun that was setting and painting the sky with vibrant pinks and oranges. They rode home in contented silence, Gregor drifting off into a slumber in the back seat with Boots curled up next to him. His parents talked quietly in the front seats regarding luggage and rooms and what to do while they still had their son home and daughters off school for school.   
It didn't seem to Gregor like more than five minutes before he woke up to find the sky was navy and speckled with glowing stars. He'd lived in the house in Virginia for three years before college yet it never felt like home. Home was their old apartment, home was that old laundry room where... Stop. He got out of the car and unloaded his stuff from the trunk.  
"Need a hand?" His father asked. The man had been absent for a large portion of Gregors life but could read him better than anyone. He probably saw the fatigue in his son's eyes and sensed that something was not right.  
"I'm alright, dad. I can mange. Just lost a lot of sleep looking forward to having you guys back." He replied as he tried his very hardest not to disappoint his family with his lack of enthusiasm.  
"Well, your room's as we left it. Although, we did have a little by of a cockroach infestation so some things had to be moved. All done now." His mother said as she came behind him. Cockroach infestation. He just smiled faintly and nodded. He thanked her and carried his things to his room. It was, as promised, exactly like he'd left it. All of his music posters were still up on his wall, his bed covers hadn't been changed but washed and put back in place. Even a few clothes remained on a heap in the corner of his room. They'd missed him and he felt that guilt again in his stomach. He decided that rest would make him better company and flopped into bed with a soft sigh. He stared at the dark ceiling for a long time just thinking. Cockroaches. He drifted off into a dreamless slumber eventually and the house was still.


	2. |.  |/|. \. ||//.  ||\. \/. /. \. |/|. |/

Falling. Falling helplessly and endlessly through the rocky chasm. He parted his lips but no scream nor sound would come from his already bloodied and cracked lips. Air forced itself into his lungs as he fell face first to an unseeable floor making it impossible to cry for help or even breathe out. As if sensing his panic from hundreds of meters below, a pair of leathery but all too familiar and comforting wings wrapped around him and immediately flew him back to-  
Scratch. Flap. Scratch. Slap.  
Gregor woke up with a exhausted groan and tried to blink the sleepiness from his eyes. How typical of his luck that the very second he got some sleep he got awoken by a creature trying to get into his room from the window. There's nothing in here for you, he thought and flopped back down into bed with a sigh.  
Slap. Slap. Scratch.  
Gregor groaned once more in frustration and whipped open his dusty curtains to find a sleek bodied bat trying to propel itself through the thick glass of his window. Despite his fatigue and growing impatience, Gregor smirked at the tiny thing on the other side of the window. I've seen bigger, he taunted the little fuzzy thing in his mind. It didn't cease its futile attempts to get into the room, in fact it seemed more determined than ever having seen the curtains open and the boy on the other side.  
Gregor slammed his fist against the glass pane but the tiny bat was stubborn in his attempts. Like someone else I knew once, Gregor thought but pushed that dangerous thought aside. He opened the window a crack and tried shouting at the little thing but it just kept on slamming its body desperately against the window. Gregor sighed in defeat and slipped on a shirt and trainers before leaving his room and the house all together. He was careful and swift as he glided down the stares and snuck out of the door. It was a warm night and if Gregor weren't so tired maybe he would appreciate the clear sky and shining stars. Instead, he looked up at his window and furrowed his brows seeing nothing there. He wondered briefly where the bat had gotten to but his concern subsided at the thought of uninterrupted slumber. Finally. He felt a weight on his shoulder and claws digging into the fabric of his shirt.  
You've got to be kidding me.  
The little bat chirped and slapped a wing against Gregor's cheek as if it hadn't caught the teen's attention enough.  
"Okay! You win. I'm outside. You've got me." Gregor snapped, not even questioning the bizarreness of the situation. He'd experience weirder. He looked to his shoulder and got a closer look at the bat. At first glance, it's fur looked jet black but on closer inspection it shone an iridescent blue in the moonlight. Raindrop like gems seemed to have been intricately placed on the end of a few hairs on the bats body. The thing's head was black with stormy grey eyes and ended in a stubby snout. The bat was beautiful but something about it made Gregor's spine tingle with fear. And a hint of excitement. There, around the bats little neck -almost completely concealed by navy fur- was a chain. A violet stone hung from the golden strand and Gregor immediately noticed the exact shade. After all these years.  
"You're from them." Gregor whispered and could almost sense the bat's relief. It's eyes closed halfway as if smiling and it spread its wings. Gregor looked back at the cottage where his family was sleeping peacefully. Could he really do this all again? Could he put his family through this turmoil after they'd just spent years healing?  
"Why are you here?" Gregor asked quietly but the bat simply hopped off of his shoulder and hovered in front of his face. "I guess I'll have to find out."  
The bat flew slowly through the trees, gliding effortlessly through the branches with the jewel hanging off of his neck shining and guiding Gregor like a star. Gregor hurried after it as he made a vow to himself to return before anyone woke up. He just needed to find out what was wrong and then he'd go back to his ordinary life. He kept telling himself this even though he knew that wasn't how it worked. It's the thought that counts, right?  
The bat stopped and fluttered over a well. In all his years living in the cottage with his family, Gregor had never seen it nor had anyone in his family mentioned it. He furrowed his brows and peered down. It was impossible to see how deep the well went, a trapdoor of rotting wood covered anything below just a few inches from the top of the well. The little bat disappeared for a moment before returning and lobbing a stone at the rotting wood. Gregor joined in the throwing of stones and soon the trapdoor shattered into a million little splinters. The bat returned the Gregor's shoulder and looked down at the dark ibis. If there was an end to the impossibly black tunnel, Gregor couldn't see it. I'm going crazy, he thought to himself yet his feet were making their stand on the stone wall that circled around the dark hole. I'm absolutely insane if I do this. He felt the bats nose press against his cheek then the slap of a wing against the back of his head. I have a family I can't leave alone again. He hovered one foot over the emptiness while he balanced on the other. His mind screamed for him to stop.  
And he jumped.


	3. /\ |// |/\ \ /| ||/ / |/| |||. ||\ | |/\ / |\/ / | \/.

Falling again. Except now the wind punching against his clothes and making his eyes water and sting wasn't a product of a dream but of a seemingly impossible reality. Gregor was convinced that he was insane for jumping down a hole at the command of an animal. Or maybe just desperate. 

He didn't fall alone though. The little bat that had taunted Gregor and gotten him into this mess in the first place dived gracefully beside Gregor towards the imperceptible floor. The bat's wings were wrapped tightly around its small abdomen and the jewel around its neck was plastered to its chest by the wind and twinkled as if to remind Gregor that he wasn't alone in this. In the infinite time it took for them to reach the bottom of the hole Gregor was again reminded of another bat. He shook those thoughts once more and extended his arms in front of him impatiently to try and gain some speed and bring forth an end to the stinging in his eyes and the strange ache in his stomach. 

He needed to know why he'd been summoned to this cavern. What could possibly be so important after so many years of nothing but silence and the odd friendly cockroach?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of falling, Gregor felt two sharp pin pricks in his ankle. He winced and stared up at his legs falling behind him and spotted the little bat clinging to him. Not long after noticing his little hanger-on Gregor felt a change in Gravity. Instead of being dragged down Gregor felt his body being forced up and rejected from the ground and definite death. The intense lurch in his stomach was all too familiar and he realised that the currents had broken his fall. 

"I suppose you weren't lying then." Gregor muttered and looked at the bat who was now perched on his rapidly rising and falling chest as they began their slow and calm descent to the floor. Over the years Gregor had learnt to read the expressions of animals, especially bats, and he swore that the little parasite on his chest looked smug. Just like...

Caught up in his thoughts again, Gregor forgot that he was heading for the floor of the cavern. He put his legs out a little too late and stumbled gracelessly to the floor. The bat hopped off last second and hovered in the air to watch Gregor sprawl out in the dust. After coughing out what felt like a pound of dust Gregor stood up and patted his clothes out. "Mhmm. Just watch. Real helpful, buddy." But the bat was already flying off through the tunnels. Gregor huffed and followed hesitantly. 

At first the tunnels were dark and damp -nothing out of the ordinary but Gregor knew better than to underestimate the simplest looking things. After a few minutes of endless sprinting slowly signs of humanity started popping up; starting with just a flaming torch but gradually flourishing into carvings and paintings with natural dyes. Chatter echoed through the tunnels and filled Gregor's heart with a warmth that he didn't think possible any more. He followed the small bat so quickly that no underlanders that they passed even had time to recognise deep bronze skin or dark hair. Gregor was thankful for that. He couldn't risk being stopped. 

The bat guided Gregor towards what he recognised as the medical sector of the large castle. The change from damp caverns to detailed architecture had been so gradual that Gregor hadn't even realised that the were inside the halls that used to occupy him through the sleepless nights. The warmth in Gregor's heart turned into cold, inescapable dread but he didn't dare let his mind wander over who could need medical attention just yet. His feet fell hard against the stone floors of the corridor, matching the quick rhythm of his heartbeat perfectly. He was so determined and moving so quickly that he almost missed his guide stopping in front of a room. Gregor skidded to a halt and snuck slowly into the room. 

Years had passed but they recognised each other immediately; her, sitting on shaking elbows on a bed, and him, out of breath from running. Old friends. Old something more.

"Luxa?"

 

"Gregor."


End file.
